Division plate for egg cases



July 1923.- 1,461,235 J c. VOORHORST DI-VISION PLATE FORIIEGQCASES Filed oci. 21. 1921 3;Shee cs-Sheet 1 Suva/mic; I d CLARENCE vooRl-loaa'r;

PROM-um w sham WILNZLMS CORP- Iw July 0 ,1923.

I 1,461,235 J VOORHORST DIVISION PLATE FOR EGG CASES- Filed Oct. 21 ,I 1921 4 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 51mm 1'1 toz d CLA RENCE. VOORHORS'T;

DIVI SION PLATE FOR EGG CASES July 0 VOORHORST Filed Oct. 21.

1921- 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 v wpm vtoz d CLARENCE Voan HORG r,

Patented July 10, 1923.

J CLARENCE VOORHORST, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DIVISION PLATE FCR EGG CASES.

Application filed October 21, 1921. Serial No. 509,228.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that, I, J CLARENCE VooR- HORST, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of- New York, in the count of New York and State of New York, ave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Division Plates for Egg Cases, of

which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to division plates for egg cases, of which there are at the present time several known types, I will briefly refer to hereinafter, the primary object of my present invention being to eliminate recognized disadvantages of these known types and at the same time promote certain advantages of consider-able practical importance in use as hereinafter described.

Among its specific objects, my inventionaims to provide a dense packing division plate'capable of safely transporting eggs, bottles, fruits and the like, which will answer all requirements in the nature of conditions precedent to its use in storage, ocean transport, interstate commerce and through the mails.

A further object is the provision of such a plate as will be yieldable to? permit of eit er expansion or contraction. without injurious effects on itself or its functions, for the purpose of properly fitting egg-case compartments of non-standard dimensions, the off-proportions being brought about for in,- stance, by careless placement of the center partitions which divide standard egg-cases into two compartments.

A further object is the provision of such a plate as above mentioned which may be manufactured in a practical economical manner, resulting in automatic reinforcement of those portions needful of such stiffening for the use of these plates in many new ways, as here disclosed.

A further object is the provision of a plate of the above type which will avoid waste and is capable of convenient use as an egg carton by the retailer after its removal from an egg-case'where it has already served its primary purpose.

A still further object is the provision of a division plate having provision for its removal from an egg-case, as well as the ability to support its load during such removal.

In carrying out my invention a flat rectangular sheet of. suitable material and proper size is corrugated chroughout, the corrugations being parallel and being thereafter pinched or. compressed at equi-distant ly spaced points in their length so as to form egg embracing spaces on one or on both faces of the plates without interfering with the normal ability of the corrugated-sheet to expand and contract in a direction transverse to the line of corrugations." The corrugations are furthermore pinched or compressed alternately at opposite faces of the plates in parallel alignment at. right angles, of course, to the corrugations, and so arranged relative to one another as to bring the fiare of a deep-dented corrugation wall along each of two opposite edges of the plates. At the other two edges of the plates,

pinching together the rugations of one face at their ends, widens side walls of the corthe floors of the corrugations therebetween;

sufficiently so. that the plates when finished, terminate orf'iall edges in straight buffer edges which, by virtue of their approximate continuity and the clearance they establish, effectively protect the eggs in thegmarginal receptors against injury. In on jiform, the corrugations are also so arranged as to bring one ridge at oneface of the plate at a point centrally between its side edges, which ridge is compressed for a considerable distance along its center line to form a hollow rib permitting the plate to hinge thereon and along a line therewith in folding one side portion upon the other. forming rib is normally enabling the plate to retain its over-all yieldable qualities of contraction and expansion.

lVith the above general objects and statements in mind, the more specificobjects, as

braced by means This hingeell as the resulting advantages of my invention will be better understood from the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a division-plate constituting thepreferred form therethrough Figure 5 is another partial section taken on line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a slightly modified arrangement intended for parcels post service, and,

Figure 7 is a erspective view of another slightly modified arrangement intended for fruits, etc.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1 and 5 inclusive, the division plate, as proposed, has parallel lines of corrugations 15, the entire sheet being generally indicated at 16, and the lines of corrugations forming parallel series of ridges and valleys on both sides of the plate. At spaced points, the ridges are pinched or compressed as indicated at 17, upon both faces of the plate, forming spaced egg re ceptors 18 between which are low-down separating crotches 19 along the lines of the corrugations and within the valleys thereof. and relatively high saddles located between the receptors in a direction transverse to the line of corrugations.

In other words, the points of pinching or compression of the ridges of the corrugations form the high saddles upon that side of the plate at which the pinching or compressing action takes place and the lowdown separating crotches 19 at opposite sides of the plate.

The plate itself is formed of any material suitable for the purpose and is originally in a. rectangular sheet of greater length in one direction than in the other, which greater length is taken up in the corrugation thereof so as to produce a square when the plate is finished and other surplus material made available by the pinching or compression of the ridges of the corrugations at the spaced points is taken up in the thickening of the walls of the saddles 17 and the crotches 19 which .constitute the pinched or indented portions between the several egg receptors 18 so as to thus reinforce these portions of the corrugations walls where the strain on the plates in service are chiefly concentrated. In constructing division plates according to this process,

the formed corrugations are pinched at spaced points and the material crowded lengthwise of the corrugations at the same time in such manner as to shorten the pinched portions and localize surplus material in the saddles and crotches where itis most needed leaving the remaining parts of normal thickness and of light pliable nature. For the purposes set forth newly made or nascent paper is preferred in a stateheavily impregnated. with a sizemaking it slithery in working and adapting it to dry and set in stiffened form, although other materials may be utilized which require wrinkling, lapping and short telescoping to accomplish the crowding of the surraenaae lus material in the saddles and crotches.

n either instance strength with extremely light weight and great economy of raw material results as the crotches and saddles only are augmented and reenforced, the other areas of the plate remaining thin and pliant.

The ridges of the corrugations are preferably' left slightly rounded or crowned, as particularly seen at 20 in Figure 3 so as to provide for spring, action in theicontact of superposed division plates in engaging relation as they will be in the use of my improved plate, and, at the same time, allow for slight laterally shifting movement of the superposed plates without the undesirable shearing action against the eggs located in the egg receptors, which would take place corrugated form is borne in mind, and this purpose is to enable expansion and contraction of the entire plate in a direction transverse to the lines of corrugation. Thus each and every receptor is capable of automatic enlargement to accommodate an oversize egg by expansion of its cross dimension.

In view of the fact that the outer egg receptors may be expanded outwardly, while the inner egg receptors, in order to expand, must do so by expanding the plate as whole or, if singly, then at the expense of the adjacent receptors; the several corrugations and the pinched or compressed portions thereof are furthermore so spaced and related as to gradually diminish thesize of the egg receptors from the center of the plate to the edges, so that even the largest eggs may be placed, with the least distension of receptors, in the center of the plate where they travel best.

The section of Figure 3 is taken transversely to the lines of corrugation and through saddles 17, from which the relation of these saddles, the corrugations, and

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walls while their flares will terminate in fiat buffer strips 21 along said edges in engagement with certain of the walls of the egg-receiving'spaces ofthe egg plates in order to protect the eggs therein from lateral crushing by blows upon the plates edges or against the egg-cases ,side walls, and from impact from within the case due to arrested momentum in transportation as humpswitch hazards and-rolling ships.

Likewise in pinching or compressing the the plane of the rid es of the corrugations on one face of the dlvision plate, while the buffer strips along the other edges are in the plane of the corrugated ridges of the opposite face of the division plate.

By further reference. to Figure 1 and also to Figure 5 it will be noted that the flat buffer strips 21 along two of the opposing edges are bent inwardly and downwardly at a deep indentation centrally between the other edges of the plate to form reverting ribs 23 enabling the fingers to be inserted below the edges 21 of the division plate while the latter is within the egg case, in order to lift the division plate with its supply of eggs, an operation which is readily permitted by virtue of the inherent strength of the division plate corrugated and completed as proposed by my method.

It will be noted, moreover, that the several corrugations areso disposed as to bring one corrugation ridge at the upper surface of the plate centrally between the side edges 21, and by reference to Figures 1 and 3, it will be noted that this corrugation ridge is further compressed along its central portion between two adjacent egg receptors to form a rib 24 enabling one side of the division plate to be folded on to the other as indicated in dotted lines of Figure 3, for which purpose the rib 24 constitutes a guiding hinge. This rib and the entire central area of the plate are strengthened and braced .byi pinching or compressing portions of the division plate connecting the center of the rib 24 with the adjacent corrugation ridges upon both sides thereof so as to form lateral struts 25. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, in particular, these lateral struts or ties 25 extend into the sides of the rib 24 substantially below the edge of the rib so that the plate is still enabled to expand and contract through the rib 24, in order to make up for the loss of this ability through the formation of the lateral ties 25.

It is further partly by this construction as in Figure 1, that the centrally located receptors are formed in the first instance of greater size than the outer receptors as above specified, in view of the utilization of the central space, whichnga central receptor would otherwise take up in augmenting the receptors immediately adjacent to such central space. 4

,, By reference to Figure 2, in p articular,'it I a will also be noted that the lower portions of the valleys of the corrugations, within each of the egg-receiving spaces or receptors, are

swelled outwardly, as seen at 26, so that the side walls of each egg-receiving space or re;- ceptor are thrown,as seen in this figure, out of alignment and each has a pronouncedly higher point, as seen at 27, so that eggs in adjacent pockets will, under normal circumstances, engage the intervening side walls at different points, avoiding the direct communication of pressure between adjacent eggs. 1 In this way, moreover,.each receptor has in its four side walls a normally projecting egg contact surface which is at once yieldable to admit large eggs and which,

through its formation, is thus given a certain elasticity tending to restore its normal contour and thus tending to cause or bring about a yielding grip of the large ends of all eggs, while the small ends of eggs are also closely fitted.

Referring now to Figure 6 it will be noted that the central structure forming the hinge guide is absent in view of the comparatively reduced size of the plate of Figure 6, which is designed for the support of but twelve eggs on each face, although the structure as previously described is otherwise carried out in full, with straight bufler edges 28 and 29, in connection with the plate 30 of Figure 6, in the same relation as previously described with reference to Figure 1.

In Figure 7, however, the plate 31, of, the size of the plate in Figure 1, and constructed similarly thereto, is divided in a slightly different manner so as to present twenty-five receptors or egg receiving spaces on each face, in lines of five in both directions, whereas the formation in Figure ,1 has twenty-four receptors in its upper face, in four rows of six each, while its lower surface has five rows of five each of which the twenty-fifthreceptor, at the very center of the lower surface of the plate, is broken down in the formation of the rib 24 and its lateral struts 25.

In the forms shown in Figure 7, intended I distinction from that of Figure 1, and brings about fiat buffer strips 32 and 33 at opposite compartments separated by a central transverse division wall and, in many instances,

- this division wall, unskillfully placed, leaves spaces of unequal sizes at opposite sides thereof, one space being proportionately greater than it should be as the other space is-smallcr than it should be, and with such a case it is obvious my inproved expansible and contractable division plates may be made to fit both sizes, expanding into the larger size and contracting into the smaller size.

I am aware that several types of division plates have been before proposed, including what are known-as the honey comb, the cupped and the checker board plates, no one of which contemplates the manufacture of a division plate in such manner as to admit-of expansion and contraction, and each of which is subject to disadvantages, either in manufacture or use, which my improved plate thoroughly overcomes.

In my construction, for instance, the lowdown crotch separating the several egg receptors admit of the insertion of the operators fingers and more ready removal of the eggs, although the upwardly presented egg receptors are still sufiiciently closed at their ends so as to impound leakers.

Explaining furthermore the hinge for the folding of my improved division plate, as in the form of Figure 1, it is well-known that when egg cases are received by retailers and the eggs sold therefrom, any of the forms of division plates now known are simply wasted. With my improved plate, however, the folding along its hinged joint of a twenty-four receptor division plate, ob-

viously will form a convenient and effective carton for the enclosure of one dozen eggs,

which need only be tied as the parcel of eggs is sold to the consumer. Thus my improved division plate enables considerable economy to retailers and provides further considerable economy to the shipper, in view of its dense pack, its marginal straight edges forming buffer strips, its lack of tendency to its advantages in offsetting contact of a cent eggs, and its formation eliminating receptors in corner sites. All of these features combined can eliminate a great proportion-of the wasteful packing and waste of packers indulged in at the present time.

I claim 1. A tray division plate for packing cases whose receiving face is a series of parallel shear the eggs, ].a

ceptor corrugations closed at both ends by aaeaa e 4 receptor corrugations compressible in the case.

2.A tray division plate whose receiving face is a series of parallel compressible repliant construction.

3. A tray division plate whose receiving face is a series of parallel compressible receptor corrugations with its alternate corrugations closed at opposite ends by pliant construction.

4. A tray division plate whose receiving face is a series of parallel compressible receptor corrugations with its alternate corrugations closed at opposite ends by pliant construction, and the other ends of the channels of the corrugations indented near theirends.

5. A tray division plate whose receiving face is a series of parallel compressible receptor corrugations closed distally by pliant construction, the said corrugations being pinched at spaced pointsto form indentaceiving faces together constitute a series of parallel, like, alternately oppositely facing compressible corrugations, those of one face closed at one end and those of the opposite face at the other end, by pliant construction.

9. A tray division plate whose two receiving faces together constitute a series of parallel, like, alternately oppositely facing compressible corrugations, the said corrugations being pinched at spaced points to form indentations dividing the channels thereof into semi-detached sections constituting receptors.

10. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9, in which terminal pinchindentations of the marginal corrugations occur near, but not at, the ends thereof.

11. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which the pinch-indentations of the marginal corrugations produce deep dents in the outer wall there- 0(f1 and flat buffer strips at its case-abutting e ge.

'12. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which the pinch-indentations of the marginal corrugations produce deep dents in the outer wall thereof and fiat buffer strips at its case-abutting edge, the buffer-strip at one edge having a menace cut-in notch near its middle and adjacent to a deep dent.

13. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which the pinch-indentations are so spaced that the resultant receptors are longer than the width of the channels formingthem.

l4. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which the pinch-indentations are so placed that the receptors recede in capacity from the center tothe margins of the plates.

15. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which the pinch-indentations are bnoad, producing high saddles and low crotches with fiattish sides between the receptors.

l6. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which the ridges and Valleys of the corrugations are crowned and merge'into the side walls of the receptors with flowing curvature. 1

17. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which theside walls of the receptors are swelled out locally so as to be yieldable, to support and properly fit either end of an egg.

18. Tray. division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which a line midway between the margins of the plate is also the center line of a corrugation thereof.

19. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which a line midway between the margins of the plate is also the center line of a corrugation thereof, the latter corrugation being compressed along its mid-length to form a hollow rib adapted to hinge the two halves of the tray on itself.

20 Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 in which a line midway between the margins of the plate .is also the center line of a corrugation thereof, the

latter corru ation being compressed along its midlengti to form a hollow rib adapted to hinge the two halves of the tray on itself, said hollow rib at itsmidlength and -below'its crest being connected through its side walls to two, laterally extending ,hollow struts merging at their outer ends with the side walls of the two adjacent corrugation ridges.

21. Tray. division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 having a space for a central receptor which space is merged with the four surrounding receptors to augment' their capacity.

22. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9 having thickened walls at the pinched or indented portions.

23. Tray division plates of the type claimed in claim 9, of lighter construction in the side walls, tops and bottoms of receptors than elsewhere in the area of the tray.

24:. The method of producing tray division plates of the character described which consists in corrugating flat sheets, constricting the corrugations at spaced -points to form pinched or indented portions, and crowding the material lengthwise of the corrugations to shorten the constricted areas and thicken the Walls thereof.

J CLARENCE VOORHORST. v 

